Superfast broadband: What is it and how do I get it?

Monday 30 October 2017
By Duncan Heaney

There’s nowt more annoying than sluggish internet that crawls along super-slowly, right? Luckily, you needn’t be stuck with a stagnant connection forever - superfast broadband exists. Keep reading and we’ll take you through what makes it so super, how to get it, and how to make sure your line is as fast as it can be.

In the UK, 'superfast' broadband is defined as a connection with download speeds of 24Mb or above. That's almost always achieved with a fibre optic line - though you can also get superfast speeds throughmobile broadbandand occasionally copper lines.

What is superfast broadband?

Fibre optic broadbandcables are the exact same kind of fibre optics that you find in those cool lamps. Light travels along them, flashing in a way that computers and data centres can interpret as information. And because the speed of light is pretty darn fast, you get lightning-quick internet. (Read more about how fibre works here.)

ADSL broadband - the standard kind, delivered through telephone wires - has download speeds of up to 17Mb, with 'basic' broadband defined as anything above just 2Mb. Superfast fibre, meanwhile, usually comes at download speeds of up to either 38Mb or 76Mb. Some providers offer it at up to 200Mb, or even up to 1Gb.

Vitally, upload speeds are faster with fibre too - meaning you can post to social media, make calls on Skype, and host livestreams without an issue. While you'll be lucky to get upload speeds of 2Mb on standard broadband, with a superfast connection it could be as high as 20Mb. (Read more about download and upload speeds here.)

What's superfast broadband for?

Large households - In a household with three or more users, superfast broadband has the bandwidth to cope with everyone going online at once. It'll connect your computers, smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, consoles, and more.

Big downloads - Superfast broadband whittles your downloading time down to mere minutes - or seconds, in some cases. A music album only takes about 30 seconds to download on a 76Mb connection, for instance.

Big downloads - Superfast broadband whittles your downloading time down to mere minutes - or seconds, in some cases. A music album only takes about 30 seconds to download on a 76Mb connection, for instance.

How to get superfast broadband

First of all, check it's available in your area by using our postcode checker:

Fibre coverage is getting better by the day, but sadly it still doesn't quite reach everybody. Use the 'minimum speed' filter at the side of the page to make sure you only see packages that give you superfast speeds. Then, choose a package that you like the look of, click through, and sign up. It's that simple.

If superfast broadband is so fast, why is MY superfast broadband so slow?

All kinds of things could be affecting the speed of your broadband connection. That includes stuff like thick walls that block Wi-Fi signals, a crummy router, how far your house is from the local exchange, lots of gadgets connected at once, and outdated software.

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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.